Thought processes and conversations started under the tilted cap of Tropicana Field. Someday everyone will know the Rays play in St. Petersburg, Florida, not TAMPA, or the fictitious city of TAMPA BAY.

Minor League Problems in 2009?

Minor League
baseball has always been the bread and butter of the major leagues. They help
support and replenish the league with players and coaches, and even bring about
change in promotions and in-game entertainment. So why is it in 2009, we might
see a huge reduction in minor league activities at our local ballparks? Is the
culprit the economy that is forcing the major league big clubs to scale back a
down flow of capital, or is it a sign of the time that when the economy is
slacking, so will the attendance at the lower levels of
baseball.

If you take a
brisk walk from the lavish suites of the Las Vegas epicenter of baseball
centered at the famed Bellagio hotel, where major league baseball executives and
agents haggle and discuss multimillion-dollar contracts for players. You will
find another much more nervous group of baseball officials and job seekers
gathered around just looking for answers and promises for the upcoming 2009
minor league seasons.

At the Winter Meetings edition of the minor league job fair and trade
show, the topic on many minds is the floundering and unstable economy, which
will be expected to have a far more economical effect on baseball’s lower
levels than on the major leagues. Many minor league teams are searching for
creative ways to save revenue and venue money but keep loyal fan bases’
heading out to their ballparks, and current baseball experienced job seekers
are finding few openings. Some of the cost-saving measures will affect the fans
in the long run, and others will reach out into the confines of the field.

Take for example, the St. Louis Cardinals’ entire minor league system,
where many of the teams’ players will be issued and will wear last year’s
uniforms. Buddy Bates, the Cardinals minor league equipment manager, said it
was difficult to find items to cut on the field because the teams still needed
catcher’s equipment, helmets and baseballs. But, he said, reusing uniforms was
something his organization could get away with. Uniform repairs cost will soar
in 2009, and with that fact, the teams’ seamstress might be kept busier in
2009 repairing pants than in stitching on players names on their jerseys.
Patches might be the order of the day on pants and knee areas for the entire
minor league system.

Many other minor league organizations have come to the same conclusion,
said Mike Gentz, the team uniforms promotion manager for Wilson Sporting Goods.
But will the lean times and reduced money flowing downhill from the Parent clubs
be enough to evoke cost saving measure early in the season. Or will the club
just start the season on a cost-conscious budget and take a ‘wait and see’
attitude into the early stages of the upcoming seasons. And why is the uniforms
being the first thing cut in a time of crisis?

Most teams have upgraded or even done huge replacements on their uniforms
yearly, but this year that number might be a bit scaled back until the true
number begin to hit the turnstiles of the stadiums. You can bet at the major
league level, the cost cutting will not be as visible as in the minors,but will
it is not nearly as much enforced early in the minor league programs. Getz said
he has a talked to 15 to 20 teamrepresentatives, and most were going to try
to just fill in a few standard things, but most have expressed a need to try
and reuse their old uniforms.”

Some teams
needing new ones, Gentz said, have decided against the traditional jerseys with
the logo sewn on the front. Instead, they have chosen a less expensive option in
which the team logo is pressed onto the jerseys, like a promotion T-shirt, or
jersey that used to be propelled into the stands with an air cannon in the
past.“You can’t
notice it unless you are up close,” Gentz said. “It saves anywhere from a third
to half the cost.”

Teams are looking beyond uniforms for savings. One of the greatest
additions in recent years to the minor league experience, has been the upgrades
in in-game entertainment and stadium participation events. The Round Rock
Express, the Houston Astros’ Class AAA affiliate, has often bought or produced
yearly in-game entertainment features for fans from one season to the next. In
2009, however, the team plans to run the same video entertainment on the
outfield screen between innings.

That might include the same cap shuffle video instead of changing the
whole thing, like they have done in years past. Most of these changes might
seem a bit subtle, but they do add up in the course of the season. Most teams
might not redo their entire in-game system, but will strategically change their
entertainment. Even the action of maybe renting more of their inflatable things
will move in the right direction to show a decrease in spending and save more
traditional things, like a fireworks event during the season.

Because many teams at the lower levels of minor league baseballplayed
their last games in late summer, they had not yet experienced any type of brunt
from economic downturn. Since Sept. 1, the DowJones industrial average has
dropped close to 25 percent, and the broader economic outlook for next year has
worsened by the day. Even with promises of economical upswings in the early
parts of 2009, it will take some time for any effects or upswings to hit the
minor league system, and any upward move in revenues might not be felt by the
smaller clubs until 2010.

At this years Minor League job fair, prospects seemed bleak for a
chance of landing a good job with full benefits. Most of the young turks
paid $225 to register for the fair, which helps them put their respective
résumés in front of minor and major league officials. It seemed that in 2007,
at the same meetings in Nashville, Tennessee there were a lot more jobs and
a fewer people seeking the positions. Even jobs in ticket sales have been scaled
back in anticipation of financial downward spirals.

Broadcasting has always been a cherry position to acquire in the minor
leagues. In recent years, the broadcasting industry had more money flowing
through it, and few applicants for the positions. But now, the jobs are
considered seasonal, and benefits are also being pulled back to ensure financial
stability. So in 2009, you might get a coveted gig on the mic at one of the
ballparks, but it will most likely be only a 7-month position, and you will need
to seek a job for the other 5 months of the year.

A weak
economy is harder the lower you go on the ladder in the minor leagues. Most
teams survive on yearly budgets ranging from $3 million to $10 million, and have
relied heavily on companies like car dealerships to buy advertising and
sponsorships.Because of
the uneasiness in the auto industry right now, such sponsorships will be hard to
come by in 2009. More creativity will be needed to close deals with sponsors,
and multi-sponsoring events might become a great trend in the coming year.

To be able to
diversify sponsorship dollars among multiple sponsors might be able to bring
back some of the past years events, but might also limit other activities at the
ballparks. A great idea by one club in Minnesota is to pay $6,000 for an
inflatable jersey to use for in-game and promotional events, but to include a
velcro strip area on the jerseys front area to be able to use multiple logos, or
even seperate logos at events througout the year.

That would
save money, and also use creative measures to ensure sponsors are included at
their own events, and can be changed for every other events without huge cost to
the team. But will the economical downfall also be a time where sponsors who
might be making money hoard their resources and not even renew past contracts
with teams in spite of increased revenues. Will the influx of hard luck financial
stories be a catalyst for some sponsors as a excuse to pull
out.

Or will the
increase in gas prices and costs be a move for more people to go to local
ballparks instead of spending more money attending major league events and game
during 2009. Could being affordable or even a local option increase the people
walking through the turnstiles at minor league parks in 2009. By and far, the
minor league product is cheaper and more economical than attending a game at the
major league level. From ticket prices to concessions, the public get a better
deal at the minor league parks.

But will that
lead to concessions having a reduced price menu, or even a selected priced
location to get deals or even a series of deals within the confines of the
ballpark. But in the end, the teams might just take the low road when it comes
to concessions ans offer a small portion, or even a smaller size to try and
eliminate the food costs and also help portion control issues. Could last years
french fries portion of 6 ounces be downsized to an economical 5 ounces this
year, or maybe the size of the stadium staple hot dog might be a little
smaller, but still priced fairly reasonable.

Teams will
have to cut corners somewhere. The food courts and the food concessions is an
easy area to fulfill economical upside without throwing a lot of attention to the
plight. All I know is that in 2009, my hot dog will still be hot, my beer will
still be cold, and the sun will feel warm on my face when I hit those afternoon
games at Brighthouse Networks Field to watch the Florida State League Clearwater
Threshers.

4 Comments

I’ve always found minor league games to be great, wholesome fun for all. Guys really play tough and go all out and it’s such an intimate setting. I hope these teams manage to make it through the recession. After all, we always need baseball, right?
–Jeffhttp://redstatebluestate.mlblogs.com/

I can only imagine what is happening, or going to happen in hamlets like Montgomery, Alabama, or Bowling Green, Kentucky where the minor league team is the only game in town. I get lucky enough ( finally) to live in a MLB town, and I have not missed many games in the last 11 years.

But the small towns live and breathe it like high school football. Pride, familiarity of players and coaches, and local jobs for the townsfolk. Hopefully by April something economically will fall back into order, but I am not holding my breath right now.

I keep hearing that, historically, baseball has thrived in tough economic times. People need to escape and they can’t afford to take big expensive trips. So maybe the minors will provide the experience of baseball without the crazy prices. Maybe it’ll come out the winner in all this. Thanks for your thoughtful look at the situation.

Oh, It is no problem for me to stick up for minor league ball.
We are the home city for the Minor League office right down next to Progress Energy Field.

That and the fact that before we had our Rays, we had the St Peterburg Cardinals, St. Petersburg Devilrays, St. Petersburg Pelicans, the Smokers, yada ,yada ,yada. We became very fond of the minor leagues as a kid. We had 4 teams within a half hours drive. Dunedin Blue Jays, Clearwater Phillies/Threshers, Tampa Yankees/Reds, and of course, St. Petersburg.

Every fand should have the minor league experience at least once, it makes you love the big show more and more.

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